It’s believed the pair stayed in touch after posing for their controversial W magazine shoot together, which caused shockwaves at the time due to the raunchy nature of the photos.

‘Sparks definitely flew during the photoshoot,’ says a source close to Tom.

‘Unfortunately, he was married at the time and couldn’t act on that chemistry, but he’s stayed in touch with Abbey ever since and followed her career with great interest.'

W Magazine

‘He thinks she has real talent and will be a big name in Hollywood one day – he’s always offering advice and has been really helpful behind-the-scenes in helping her land roles and meet with the right people in LA.

‘So when he found out he was coming to Australia to promote his new film The Mummy, the first person he called was Abbey to arrange a hook-up.’

And it seems Tom was in luck. The actress – who now divides her time between LA and Australia – had a two-week break in filming on her new movie Elizabeth Harvest, which meant she was able to take time out for Tom.

‘Abbey’s been filming in Bogota, Colombia, but jumped at the chance to come back to Australia and show Tom some of her favourite spots,’ says a source close to the actress.

‘They went out to a couple of low-key bars and restaurants. She also took him to some of her favourite scenic lookouts – it was very relaxed.

‘She said Tom’s a great guy – pretty shy, but very charismatic. Abbey was pretty taken with him – it was like no time had passed at all, and they were back at their photoshoot with sparks flying.’